Baroque Assignment

The period of art known as Baroque began in the late 16th century. The period introduced art that was complex, rich, and extravagant. This was a time when optimism was the law of the land and a more confident and self-assured attitude made itself known. This is reflected in most of the artwork in this period.Paintings in the Baroque period were more complex than sculpture, and it showed in almost every painting. (Gardner, 397, 402) The painting, â€Å"The Geographer† by Jan Vermeer, is an example of Baroque art in the 17th century.Encompassing the theme of cartography, the sea chart, globe, and the like, (Harden) the painting shows a man, interrupted from his work, looked out the window. It is interesting to note that the man in the painting might be Anthony van Leeuwenhoek. It has been said that the man in this painting fits the mold of an intelligent man, knowledgeable from literature and observation. (Gowing) This would certainly fit van Leeuwenhoek. In regards the the rest of the painting, there is an abundance of objects on the left, leading the viewer's eye to that area.It seems that the few objects on the right of the painting are unimportant. This painting embodies the four main characteristics of Baroque paintings: the use of diagonals, suspense, tenebrism, and snapshot quality. Diagonals play a major role in â€Å"The Geographer†. In fact, almost every line is at an angle to imply perspective. This gives the painting depth. Everything is on a diagonal, to the point where it almost looks as if the picture is slanted to one side.Other details to note are the compass in his hand moving at the same angle as his arm, creating movement in the direction of his other hand, creating a circle. Most of the movement of the piece leans to the left. Even the shadows seem to be at a diagonal. It seems as if the man in the painting is looking out the window at something. It looks as if he is disturbed, or shocked, with what he sees. Perhaps he was inter rupted from his work to witness something awful. This is the most exciting moment. The viewer can imagine what he is looking at, none of the possibilities pleasant.This is how the painting is suspenseful. One can only imagine what happened before, or what will happen after, this picture was painted, but one can be sure that this moment is the beginning of something exciting. Tenebrism is defined as a style of painting that uses violent contrasts of light and dark. In â€Å"The Geographer†, this is apparent. The strongest light source in the picture is on the left, adding even more emphasis to this side of the painting. The man's face is lit quite well, the viewer must be able to see his face for the viewer to understand his anguish.What he is working on is also well-lit. The wall, where nothing seems to be happening, also where there are no diagonals, is cast in shadow, making this wall unimportant. There seems to be stark lines of shadow, and then of light. (Harden) This con trast adds to the painting's shocked and disturbed feel. Looking at the painting reminds the viewer of looking at a photograph. The colors are rich, the strokes barely noticeable. However, more importantly, the painting resembles a photograph because of the emotion that is caught by the artist.It seems as though the artist painted this at top speed, just to catch the shocked look on the subject's face. Of course, it is impossible to paint that fast, and this is why it resembles a photograph. The characteristics of Baroque art in the 17th century show themselves in â€Å"The Geographer†. In an age of complexity, Vermeer took a subject and animated him with the use of shadow and light. The subject was captured in a state of shock, which leaves the viewer curious as to what he was looking at. Also, one cannot help but to notice the quality of the painting.In an age when optimism was the rule, this painting lends itself to a darker corner of the world, and Vermeer makes it work b eautifully. ? Gardner, Helen. Art Through the Ages. Chicago: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. 1959. ? Gowing, Lawrence. â€Å"Vermeer†. Essential Vermeer. 1950. 2001. 28 Jan 2009. http://www. essentialvermeer. com/cat_about/geographer. html ? Harden, Mark. â€Å"Jan Vermeer: The Geographer†. WebMuseum, Paris. 14 Oct 2002. 29 Jan 2009. http://www. ibiblio. org/wm/paint/auth/vermeer/geographer. html

Summary of “An Historical Preface to Engineering Ethics”

Summary of â€Å"An Historical Preface to Engineering Ethics† Michael Davis, in his article â€Å"An Historical Preface to Engineering Ethics† clarifies some misconceptions about engineering and distinguishes the differences between science and engineering by showing progressions through history. He makes a point to disprove engineer turned historian, Eugene Ferguson on his criticism that engineers have no consideration for human welfare by proving that not only do engineers have a deep consideration for human welfare, but that all of Ferguson’s criticisms of engineering are actually compliments given engineers’ military origin.Davis first depicts the progression of the definition of technology from ancient Greece to modern times, showing how the reverence of technology and thus engineering has grown over time. The modern day definition being the study of how to make manual labor easier, and the ancient Greece definition being the study of manual labor, an d since mental labor is more respected than manual labor, engineering has become better respected over time. He disqualifies the misconception that science preceded technology and is therefore older and better than engineering by showing how some inventions predated the science that explains them.He even argues that engineering is better than science because it applies scientific knowledge to make things useful. Davis clarifies that engineering is not the same as technology. Technology being the creation of tools, and engineering being the planning and instruction for others to implement that creation. He shows the history of engineering and how it started in the military, branching out from France to other countries, progressively sophisticating over time. Beginning with engineers in the infantry, creating weapons such as catapults and artillery, France eventually found need of a congregation of the engineers.They founded an organization called the corps du ge’nie, which pro ved very useful in increasing the flow of knowledge and skills and providing records for later use. In just a few short years, they were acclaimed all over France for their advances in military construction. Davis shows that the basis of all modern day engineering originated from the corps and officially started in the 1700’s when they finally came to understand what they could do as engineers and what they wanted to do. After this, he proceeds to show how he Ecole Polytechnique school, which practically perfected engineering curriculum, was formed in France and how it’s curriculum was adopted by the US. The first engineering school in the US, the West Point military academy, was founded on this curriculum. Davis includes these facts about history, not only to differentiate between science and engineering and to clarify misconceptions about engineering, but also to disprove historian Eugene Ferguson’s criticism of engineering. Ferguson criticizes engineering as unethical; he believes that engineers do not care about human welfare.Davis agrees with Ferguson’s points about engineers, but argues that they are not criticisms, but compliments and that engineers do in fact have a deep consideration for human welfare. Ferguson criticizes engineers for being efficient, creating labor-saving devices, putting control into systems, favoring the majority, and treating engineering as a means to an end rather than a means to satisfying human welfare. Davis argues that the first four are actually commendable qualities given engineers’ military origins, and that engineers do hold human welfare paramount and have since very early in their history.Since very early in engineering’s history human welfare has been held paramount. From almost the very beginning, even back in the 1700’s, human welfare was of great importance to engineers. The Ecole Polytechnique in France was noted for their regard for human welfare back in the 1700â €™s and England had the same attitude as France in regard to this as well. In 1828, Thomas Trigold, a member of The British Institution of Civil Engineers was asked to define civil engineering and he defined it as an art of directing Nature for the convenience of man.Davis states that these beliefs still hold true in today’s society, the only thing that differs is the engineers’ code of ethics, to stay consistent with ordinary morals as they differ. Davis argues that even before engineers created a code of ethics involving human welfare that they were not unethical, because they were not expected to hold it paramount, and that they were not unmoral, because not holding the public welfare as paramount is not unmoral in any ordinary sense of morality.Davis ultimately concludes that engineers’ do have high consideration for human welfare. Through historical references, definition contrasts, and counterargument, Davis provides a solid argument that engineering a t its core is based upon the advancement of man, and thus human welfare. Word Count: 767 Citation: Davis, Michael. â€Å"An Historical Preface to Engineering Ethics. † Science and Engineering Ethics 1995: 33-44. Print.

Darwin and Wallace Island Finch Evolution Lab Experiment

Evolution and Natural Selection have been a recurring focus of biology throughout the years. This Particular experiment is based on Charles Darwin’s observations of finches made in the Galapagos Islands. He noted that different neighboring islands in the Galapagos had distinctly different types of finches. He theorized that this was caused by natural selection, where the environment determined the characteristics of the species in it. In the Evolution Lab Experiment, I looked at how beak size and population numbers for two hypothetical populations of finches on two different islands evolved in response to factors that I manipulated by changing environmental conditions. The specific environmental conditions that I chose to manipulate were the precipitation in the environment and the variance of the finches. However I only manipulated the precipitation and variance on Darwin Island and not on Wallace Island. I thought that if Darwin Island finches had less variance and less precipitation than Wallace Island Finches, that Darwin Island finches would be unable to effectively adapt in order to easily consume the type of seed that was a result of the lesser amount of precipitation. MATERIALS The materials required for me to complete this experiment were my laptop and my University of Phoenix Student Website. Once I accessed the University of Phoenix Student Website, I was able to access the Evolution Lab, which is the final required material. An optional material that I chose to use was a pen and paper to take notes. PROCEDURES In order for me to accurately test my hypothesis, I needed to first get to the Evolution Lab. Once I logged onto my University of Phoenix Student Website, I went to the classroom tab and clicked on Evolution Lab, which is found in week three. Once I pulled up the Evolution Lab window, I chose the button labeled â€Å"Change Inputs†. Once I arrived at the screen with the seven variables on the left and the pictures of the finches on the right, I clicked on the tab labeled â€Å"Variance†. The next step is to change the Darwin Island Finch Variance to 0. 50. I did not change the Wallace Island Finch Variance. After the Variance was set, I clicked on the tab labeled â€Å"Precipitation†. I changed the precipitation on Darwin Island to 10 centimeters and left Wallace Island Precipitation at 20 Centimeters. Since I only changed two variables in an attempt to pinpoint the cause of the results, the next step was to click the tab labeled â€Å"Done†. After I chose whether I wanted to look at the results over 100, 200, or 300 years, I clicked the tab labeled â€Å"Run Experiment†. At this point, I was ready to analyze the results and take notes if I needed to. Lastly, if I needed to extend the time the results were recorded, all I needed to do was click the tab labeled â€Å"Revise Expt. †. Then I clicked the pull down tab and changed the range from 100 to 200 or 300. DATA DISCUSSION As seen in this experiment, when the Variance was lowered along with the Precipitation on Darwin Island, the population was on average, half of that of Wallace Island where the numbers were left in the default status. I made the hypothesis that if I decreased the variance and precipitation on Darwin Island, that the finches there would be less able to adapt their beaks to accommodate the larger size of seeds and would eventually all die off. Since the graphs produced from the Evolution Lab program did not depict the species of finches on Darwin Island falling to zero, my hypothesis did not turn out to be correct. I believe that with the variance lowered to . 5 and not all the way to zero, the finches were still able to evolve, but not as rapidly as the finches on Wallace Island. In addition, since only a small amount of evolution was necessary for the finches on Darwin Island to be able to consume the larger seeds produced from a decreased amount of rain; I believe they could have survived with an even smaller amount of variance. The reason I feel that a smaller amount of variance would have sufficed is that, not only did the finches in my experiment not go extinct, but they only remained below their initial population for the first fifty years after the parameters were put into place. One aspect of the experiment that I feel could be improved upon is the lack of information on how many times a new generation was produced. I was wondering how many times the finches would have to produce offspring in order to observe evolution. I can see that it took the finches on Darwin Island fifty years to regain their initial population of 200, but I would like to know how many times in that fifty years new generations were produced so that I could connect rise in population with a number of generations so that I might be able to predict future evolution. An additional way that the experiment could have been improved would if I had given the Wallace Island finches an increased number of variance and same amount of precipitation. This would have allowed me to not only see what would have happened when the finches had a higher likelihood of evolution to the decreased amount of rain and therefore a solidified cause for the resulting population, but it would have allowed me to analyze the reverse effect and possibly predict trends. CONCLUSION Overall, I tested the effect of lowered variance and lowered precipitation of one population of finches while leaving another population of finches as the control group. I predicted that the finches with the lowered variance and lowered precipitation would become extinct. Even though my hypothesis was rejected at the end of the experiment, I learned that even with an increase in the size of their food as a result of lowered precipitation and a lowered ability to evolve, the finches on Darwin Island rebounded quite quickly.

Mary Rowlandson’s “The Captive” Essay

In the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries of America, many settlers and colonists were taken captive by the Native Americans, commonly known as Indians. The Native Americans had many reasons and motives for capturing the settlers or colonists. Captives were often taken to be traded, ransomed, or â€Å"adopted,† which Native Americans did to replace tribal members who had passed or who had been killed. Two very famous captivity narratives are those of James Smith and Mary Rowlandson, whose stories are very different due to their captors, gender, and religion. James Smith was 18 years old when he was captured by the Indians just miles above Bedford. Smith was captured by three Indians, one was a Canasatauga and the two others were Delawares. With the exception of being flogged, Smith’s experiences with the Indians were not terrible. He was essentially treated as an Indian. This stems from the fact that he was adopted by the Natives. James Smith was given man y freedoms. Smith was very trusted by the Indians. They allowed him to hunt with them or on his own, they expected him to act as an Indian, and they also trusted him to take care of them when needed. Smith also had the option to leave whenever he pleased. He did not have to remain with the Indians for the four years, 1755-1759, that he did. These experiences are very different compared to those of Mary Rowlandson. Mary Rowlandson’s hometown of Lancaster, Massachusetts was destroyed by the Indians in King Philip’s War and she was taken captive during the destruction. Mary Rowlandson was captured in 1676 and remained a captive for three months before the requested ransom was paid. Rowlandson had very different experiences from James Smith with the Indians. At her capture, she witnessed the Indians killing or harming many in her family. Rowlandson, herself, suffered a gunshot wound. James Smith was also harmed when first captured by the Indians; however, he had been aided by French doctors. Mary Rowlandson dealt with her gunshot wound on her own. She also had to carry her sick child for six days before the child passed away. Rowlandson was not able to read freely in front of the Indians, she was not given a fair share of th e food, and was often forced to find other Indian tribes to spend the night with, or to receive food from. Rowlandson was sometimes allowed to go and meet with family members who were with neighboring tribes. Compared to James Smith’s experiences, Mary Rowlandson had it tough when she was a captive of the Indians. Gender had a major effect on how the captives were treated. Native Americans often captured women because they were easier to capture, could bring in more ransom, and the Indians also believed that the women would be easier to control. Mary Rowlandson had to make clothes for others in order to either trade with them or to get money that she could then use to obtain food with. James Smith, on the other hand, was able to go out and hunt for the food he needed. The food that he and his fellow Indians gathered was evenly divided amongst the tribe. Rowlandson, however, was treated better by some tribes than the one she was being held captive in. Some Indians from other tribes would offer her food or opportunities to get money or goods that she needed. This was likely due to the fact that women had more powers and were more respected in some Indian tribes. Smith was expected to help and fend for himself while Rowlandson was often provided with food, though it was not a fair share and was often not of the same value that Smith’s was. Overall, Mary Rowlandson was treated disrespectfully, unfairly, and as though she was inferior. Rowlandson had to fight harder to live, as her food was often stolen and her religion, her greatest hope and strength, was frowned upon during her captivity. Religiously, Mary Rowlandson was affected more than James Smith. Mary Rowlandson was very religious. Rowlandson was married to a minister of Lancaster. Mary Rowlandson’s faith and religion were the only things that kept her going during her captivity. The only thing she had to look forward to was reading her bible, though she had to do it secretly because once, her mistress caught her reading it, grabbed it out of her hands, and threw it ou tside. Rowlandson recovered her bible, but from then on she read it more secretly. Mary Rowlandson believed that all of the trials that she survived and the blessings that she received were from God. Rowlandson wrote of leaving her captivity, â€Å"I have been in the midst of those roaring lions and savage bears that feared neither God nor man nor the devil, by night and day, alone and in company, sleeping all sorts together, and yet not one of them ever offered the least abuse of unchastity to me in word or action; though some are ready to say I speak it for my own credit; but I speak it in the presence of God, and to His glory. God’s power is as great now as it was to furnace. Especially that I should come away in the midst of so many hundreds of enemies and not a dog move his tongue.† Mary Rowlandson often quoted bible verses, one being Psalsms 27: â€Å"Wait on the Lord.† Rowlandson used this particular verse to persuade another captive against trying to escape and run away. and metaphorically related her experiences to stories of the bible .Mary Rowlandson depended upon her religion to survive her captivity. Without, her faith, religion, and God, Mary Rowlandson would have had no hope, no reason to go on, or no encouragement to persevere through her captivity. James Smith was not extremely religious. Unlike Mary Rowlandson, James Smith did not depend upon religion to survive his captivity with the Indians. The Indians that Smith was with did not mind him practicing his own religion and they did not force their religion upon him. James Smith was, towards the end of his captivity, traveling with an Indian by the name of Tecaughretanego and his son Nunganey. After Smith laughed at Tecaughretanego’s religious ceremonies, Tecaughretanego said to him, â€Å"Brother,–I have somewhat to say to you, and I hope you will not be offended when I tell you of your faults. You know that when you were reading your books in town I would not let the boys or any one disturb you; but now, when I was praying, I saw you laughing. I do not think that you look upon praying as a foolish thing; I believe you pray yourself. But perhaps you may think my mode or manner of praying foolish; if so, you ought in a friendly manner to instruct me, and not make sport of sacred things.† Smith learned a lot about the Indians’ religion through his experiences with them and learned to respect their beliefs. Though the experiences of James Smith and Mary Rowlandson were very different, neither story will ever be forgotten. Perhaps that was their purpose for recording their exploits. The differences in their stories can be attributed to their sex, religion, and captors. Had Mary Rowlandson not been female, religious, or captured by the Indians she was, her story may have been very different. Also, for James Smith, had he not been male or taken by the Indians he was his story would have been completely altered. The qualities, beliefs, and characteristics of Mary Rowlandson and James Smith were essentially what saved their lives.

Market mechanism and public service delivery Essay

Market mechanism and public service delivery - Essay Example In the last few decades,public administration has witnessed a deep process of reform in order to "make publicly-owned services and enterprises more business - like".For, public administration has increasingly translated into public governance and huge behemoths in the public sector are expected to be run more efficiently at reduced costs. In other words, it is expected that the public administration become competitive in delivering goods and services. Governments are expected to strategise a country's developmental priorities by providing an efficient, responsive and transparent public administration. Countries have now moved to a mix of market-based or competitive governance and civic-based or partnership governance. This has been brought about by the changing role of the state and the growing businesslike and managerial approach to the operations of Public Administration. A new fragmented and complex world of markets and networks has pushed governments to move from a direct deliver y of services to a more general coordination and control of government functions. While, there is substantial scope for increase in delivery of public services through the market mechanism, there are several limitations and impediments too.In a globalised era, public administration, or the delivery of public services considered as universal needs and much needed socio-economic infrastructure to civil society are proving to be a tough and complex task. Since Public Administration includes within its ambit political, economic and social governance, governments across the world are having to function in an environment marked by increased public scrutiny. This has arisen out of increasing democratization and the diffusion of ideas arising from the implosion of information and communication technologies. Text of the article Since the time of Plato, Aristotle and Kautilya, good public managers have been recognized as those with sound judgement, a sense of justice and courage to take action on behalf of the good of society. Traditionally, public administration entities ie government institutions responsible for providing vital services have been state-centric, huge, self sufficient monoliths, hierarchical in their relations and also inclined towards a controlling order. Since early Public service mechanism 2 times, the public administration in countries has been providing services essential to society, some of them considered as fundamental rights of the citizens, like the right to water. In addition, law and order, health, education and building infrastructure viz. roads, transportation including railways and aviation, telecommunication, sewage, energy and a host of other services have come within the ambit of public administration. Publicly owned services and industries are controlled by the central governments. These state-owned enterprises or services do not generate any profit and provide essential services for the entire population. The cost of providing these services is met from taxation money. Local bodies are entrusted with certain civic functions including waste management, maintenance of parks etc. The main advantage in public owned enterprises or services is that jobs for workers in these institutions are secure and unemployment does not

Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drugs - Essay Example An example would be, if a person gets addicted to heroine, it is almost impossible to quit. Even though there are other soft drugs like marijuana, and others still they are addictive. And, in this light drugs should be made illegal as they are harmful to people. I strongly, propose that drugs should be made illegal. Another side of the problem is Why should drugs be legal Drugs are used for lot of other useful remedies, and keeping it illegal causes some problems. Government should do something to control the drug problem. It should make people aware that abuse of drugs is illegal. Illegal use of drugs causes several problems of social and criminal nature. This leads to many drug violators and serious offenders behind the bars. The money and expense used in managing the drug related problem is very big. It makes government spend too much money to buildings which are needed to accommodate these criminals. This is also a burden on the taxpayers, and nobody likes this situation. "it is possible to stop most drug addiction in the United States within a very short time. Simply make all drugs available and sell them at cost" (Vidal 384). I think this part is important to support the legalizations. The drugs are now spread out to the black market such as mafia. It relates with money, they make lots of money from drug businesses. However if government make that legal and sell it at cost, then black market could not sell the drugs illegally. The active part to control and legalize the drugs will help solve the problem. The second part of the problem is when it is illegal? Drugs have deep impact on the minds of the people, which make them get involved in crime.

Organisational Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Organisational Analysis - Essay Example She meets with an accident, after which she asks Ed Masry, a lawyer to sue the person who hit her. Ed promises her to win the case, but as the only evidence is that of the testimony of Erin herself, the twice-divorced, unemployed single mother stands no chance against a socially respected doctor. In her desperation to find a job, she accuses Ed Masry of failing her and forces him to give a clerk’s job in his own office. Though she lacks the necessary skills and prior experience, she goes about picking her way through the job. While filing papers one day, she comes across a real estate case in Hinkley. What grabs her attention is the fact that there are medical records of the Jensens family amidst the various real estate papers. Taking the permission from Ed to dig further, she goes to Hinkley to meet the family. Her investigations unfold a large conspiracy by the billion dollar company PG&E. The company has been knowingly polluting the area around Hinkley by leaking a toxic chemical called Hexavalent Chromium into the underground water, which causes serious ailments like Cancer. To cover this up, the company had offered to buy the land around Hinkley, thereby resulting in the real estate case of Jensens. It soon becomes apparent to Erin that not just their client, but most of Hinkley’s residents are being affected by Hexavalent Chromium in one way or the other. Erin goes on to persuade Ed and the rest of the neighborhood to take on the mighty corporation through a legal suit. Her determined fight to win the â€Å"largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit†, forms the rest of the story. (Litoff 2011). Although the protagonist is not a typical employee nor does the story evolve around a big time organization, it is a story that is based on reality and has all the elements of an organizational life – individual goals and aspirations, social, cultural